"We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address

Fighter

Monday, July 05, 2010

In the early hours of 4 July, the MT Motivator reported it was under small arms fire from a pirate attack in the northern Bab Al Mandeb area in the southern Red Sea. After notification of this attack, attempts were made to make contact with the Motivator but to no avail. The hijack was confirmed early on 5 July.

The MT Motivator, deadweight 13,065 tonnes with a crew of 18 Filipino nationals on board, is a Marshall Islands Flagged chemical products tanker loaded with lubricants oil. EU NAVFOR is monitoring the situation.

This is, to my best recollection, the first capture of a major ship in the Red Sea by Somali pirates.

UPDATE on location of capture from the ICC CCS (IMB) Live Piracy Report here:

An earlier post on the shift of Somali pirates to the Red Sea here. UPDATE: An earlier warning from the U.S. Navy dated June 9, 2010:

Pirates in the Gulf of Aden are increasingly operating at night and could expand their raids into the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday

The Bahrain-headquartered Fifth Fleet said it had warned merchant vessels about changes in pirates' tactics following bad weather and the stepped-up presence of international navies.

As noted there, the weather off Somalia currently is not very good for small boat (read "pirate") operations - the weather in the southern Red Sea better (see here): From top to bottom: Off east coast of Somailia (Indian Ocean), Gulf of Aden, Southern Red Sea

No comments:

Post a Comment

EagleSpeak

About EagleSpeak

The main focus of this blog is maritime security. Other matters may appear. I am a retired attorney and a retired Navy Reserve Captain (Surface Warfare). Opinions expressed herein are my own. Sometimes I have the experience to back them up. Your opinions may vary. Don't panic. Feel free to disagree, that's what free speech is all about.
Nothing contained herein should be confused as me giving legal advice to anyone. If you are confused, welcome to the club. All mistakes herein are my fault. I have sufficient academic credentials to be dangerous to myself and to others.
Comment moderation is at my discretion, so your comments may never appear. You can start your own blog for free and comment there all you want. I enjoy a healthy debate, but not arguing with trolls. If you can't comment without using intemperate language, go someplace else.
Under the header: An F/A-18E of "Golden Warriors" VFA 87 lands on the flight deck of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). (U.S. Navy photo by PO3 Christopher Gaines/Released)